Twelve Hour Thursday

Today is the last 12 hour day of my school year. It is parent-teacher conference evening for my school, so I will be completely alone despite a recent curiosity about what students do during school from parents involved in a support group. No one will come to the music therapy room to discuss their students, and if they do, they will tell me what instruments they want their students to learn to play. I did hear our school social worker stating to a guest that "one of the differences between other public schools and our school is that our music and art programs are therapies. We have an art therapist and a music therapist instead of teachers." After 29 years, the school social worker FINALLY gets that my job is different from the local music educators! Hooray!!

I got an "atta girl" in the hallway on Monday morning when the quality assurance person stopped me by the printer to tell me that he had recently heard that I do more than just play a guitar during music therapy. Apparently, his art therapist wife and my art therapist coworker had a meal together and my friend shared some of the things that I do in this music therapy world including some of my past and current committee work and conference organizations, my books and products, and my penchant for presenting ideas and techniques to other music therapists. He seemed flabbergasted that I do more than what I do at work. It embarrassed me a bit, but it was also nice to hear that what I do and what I enjoy is something impressive. I'm not going to lie - those comments have buoyed my energy this week.

I am someone who compartmentalizes my work.

I have a work journal. All of my work tasks and ideas go into that planner. I have a home journal where my home things are listed. It is rare that there is an event that goes in both, but significant changes in my schedule (such as tonight's 12 hour work obligation) go in both. 

My outside work is something that goes into my home journal rather than my work journal. No one at work really knows about what I do when I leave that place, and that is how I like it. Most of the things that I do for my other work stuff is not relevant to what I do at my full-time job, so there is little reason to share it all with others. I enjoy my full-time job, but I love the little passion projects that I do outside of my 7:15-3:15 daily work.

I am getting ready to move downstairs to my cooler basement bedrooms. It is getting too hot in the big, sunny bedroom upstairs for my hot flashing body, so it is time to migrate down here where I can spend some more time engaged in creative pursuits in the cooler temperatures. I prefer feeling cool. There is a significant difference between the upstairs and downstairs temperatures, so why not take advantage of my air conditioning??

For now, though, it is time to move into my 12-hour day. I have four groups today. After my last group, I will go to a meeting, and then return for conferences. I will sit in my music therapy room and wait to see if anyone needs me. I will print out a bunch of visuals to cut out, laminate, and cut again to keep me busy. I will watch videos on my mini Kindle. I will make myself a quesadilla while everyone else eats soup during our potluck (I can't eat soup for lots of weird digestion issues). I bet I will talk to my sister when she forgets that I am working late. I will prepare myself for some physical behavior management training on Friday through stretching and trying to get my back to align safely. This is the last day of woodwind instrument introductions and play - thank goodness! There is nothing more humbling than playing a group of instruments that you are not really prepared to play. I cannot get a good sound out of the flute at all - there is something wrong with the instrument, I'm sure (smiley face) - when the flute is assembled. I can make great sounds with the headpiece, but... I am a bit better at the clarinet. I am barely functional on the saxophone, but I try. The most difficult part of this week is that my students are not able to play the instruments themselves. I do not get a budget, so I cannot provide mouthpieces and reeds for everyone out of my salary. Even if I could do that, I would probably still not let everyone play. Uck - could you imagine the germs??

Next week is Spring Break. My primary quests for this upcoming week are to move downstairs, clean out the living room, and get some library books to read. Side quests include things like organizing my kitchen a bit more, finishing my cold to warm weather clothing storage, and going outside into my backyard. I would like to sit outside for a little bit (before the bugs become a primary issue). I also need to look at my budget for cleaning out my gutters. That is a necessary thing - I had corn growing in a gutter this summer. That is not good for the gutters, I guess. Home ownership is not something I take to naturally.

After break, we have no more days off until the end of the regular school year. Then, we have a week off before starting our extended school year. I have a medical procedure scheduled for that week off, so I will not really have time to relax before our extended school year starts up. I have four noncontract days that have to be used by June 30, so I might be taking some time off during summer school. We will have a week off at the start of July and then three more weeks of summer school before a week and a half off before the new school year. I have no plans for my breaks other than this upcoming medical procedure and hosting the folks who are arriving to help me with the entire panicky feeling that I get when I think about what has to happen.

Right now, I have about 30 minutes to go before I leave. I am going in later than usual. There is no reason to arrive early on a day when other people will not have to work as much. I still have to do my documentation from yesterday, but I bet I can finish my documentation for today tonight when I am sitting in my room all by myself. I really don't like these 12-hour marathons, but it is part of my contracted obligations, so off I go. At least this one is on a Thursday and not a Wednesday - those are the WORST! We have three Wednesday nights and only one Thursday night next year for some reason...

Time to pay attention to some frivolous television before heading out into the world. Thanks for reading. I appreciate that there are people out there who read what I write.